This invention relates to a display case extender for a refrigerated grocery case, and more particularly to a refrigerated case extender.
Non-refrigerated case extenders are well known in the art, and include various types of trays or bins adapted to be mounted or hooked over and in front of the front case wall of an existing refrigerated grocery case in order to provide a more economical auxiliary storage space for the grocery products.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,528,916 issued to Shreve on Nov. 7, 1950 discloses a lower refrigerated case or bin having an upper shelf over which cooled air from the lower bin or shelf is circulated.
The Davis U.S. Pat. No. 3,552,138 issued Jan. 5, 1971 discloses a "REFRIGERATED DISPLAY UNIT", which is an auxiliary display case mounted in front of and against the front case wall of a conventional or existing refrigerated grocery case. A U-shaped conduit is fitted over the back wall of the auxiliary case and the front wall of the existing case and is provided with some type of pump for moving cool air from the front portion of the existing case into the rear portion of the auxiliary case. However, in all four embodiments of the auxiliary display case disclosed in the Davis patent, the warmer air in the auxiliary case is discharged through exhaust openings in the front wall of the auxiliary case to the ambient air. There is no provision in the Davis auxiliary display units for returning the spent or warm air to the refrigeration circulation system of the existing grocery display case.